ANACORTES — As spectacular as Burlington-Edison’s Evan Coulter and Anacortes’ Mackenzie Larkin have been — and each could throw a highlight reel up on YouTube from Monday’s game alone — the difference in their first meeting of the year came down to supporting casts.

Coulter got more help from his friends, and the Tigers got a 69-54 boys’ basketball victory in the non-conference meeting between the teams.

“That was as well as we’ve played all season,” Tigers coach Rick Skeen said. “It’s a huge win for us, because Anacortes is one of the best teams in our conference. We had to play very well to come in here and beat them.”

Larkin finished with 32 points, hitting 13-of-22 shots from just about everywhere on the court, and added nine rebounds. Coulter’s 31 was set up mostly by his penetration, either slashing to the basket or stopping for a mid-range jumper. He hit 11 of his 18 attempts.

They were the two leading scorers in the county coming into the game, with Coulter’s 22.3 points per game just ahead of Larkin’s 21.8.

While the teams’ top scorers were lighting up the scoreboard, notably absent from the points column was each squad’s second-leading scorer.

Anacortes’ Luke Averill, who had been averaging 19 points per game, had a frustrating night with just two points, though he did pull down 13 rebounds. Burlington-Edison’s Colin Stewart, averaging 15.3 coming in, attempted just five shots and finished with three points.

So that meant the game would be decided by the supporting casts, and the first to step up off the bench for the Tigers was Tonio Bales. The reserve post proved almost unstoppable, hitting 8-of-10 shots for 16 points

Cory Geffe kept the Seahawks close in the first half, hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers for 12 points, but didn’t score in the second half. Larkin scored 18 of Anacortes’ 25 second-half points.

A quick 9-0 burst in the third quarter gave the Tigers a 49-38 lead, one that hovered at or near double figures the rest of the way.

“Our defensive effort in the second half was not up to par,” Anacortes coach Brett Senff said. “We tried to take away Stewart and Coulter, and obviously we couldn’t do much with Coulter. He’s one heck of a player.”

Joel Conijn and Craig Babington each chipped in seven points for the Tigers, and Ian Capron collected 11 rebounds.

Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at